We are More Than Our Money

We tend to think of our lives in silos.

We have different aspects of our lives, different routines, different people, and different requirements for each silo.

We carve out hours for our jobs, hours for our family and friends, and maybe an hour to exercise. We give each aspect a certain amount of energy each day based on our priorities.

We are in the center while our priorities make up the larger circle.

We see each area compartmentalized and in its own space.

Every Aspect of Our Lives is Connected

This illustration is messier, but this is reality.

Everything in our lives is impacted by something else in our lives.

They all overlap.

Change in one area influences changes in other areas.

I used to watch the show, The Biggest Loser. In case you don’t know the show, overweight contestants competed to lose the most weight.

On one episode Suze Orman was the guest. Suze Orman is a financial expert who has written many best-selling books and had a television show for many years. Suze interviewed each of the participants and said she wasn’t surprised that most of them had financial problems as well.

She confirmed all aspects of our lives are connected.

When you are failing in one area, it’s common for other areas to take that same trajectory. This is because you have one thing in common in all these areas.

They are all controlled by you.

You are the common denominator

and create a web of interconnectedness in your life.

For example, if your health is decreasing, your job performance most likely will get worse.

If you’re stressed with money, that stress will carry over to your relationships.

This is why you can’t push your money to the corner any longer.

You can’t avoid it.

FACE YOUR FEARS

SIGNS YOU ARE AVOIDING YOUR MONEY:

1. You don't open all your bills and statements.

2. You don't like to talk about money.

3. A negative experience with money shapes your current perspective.

4. When you think of money, negative feelings surface.

Growing up, I loved the saying, ignorance is bliss. I thought that what I didn’t know couldn’t hurt me.

If I limited what I knew, I could live in my fairy tale life.

How wrong was I?

My fondness of ignorance was verging on avoidance.

Avoiding anything – feelings, conflict, pain, fear, shame – never ends well. When you purposefully avoid something, you are shoving it deeper inside.

You’re creating negativity inside your mind and body. Negativity will literally tear apart your mental and physical health.

While growing up, I was completely aware that my parents didn’t have a lot of resources. As I got older and performed well in my career, I started making a decent salary and had a positive net worth. I was excited about this progress. I no longer consciously thought about being broke.

One day I was shopping with a friend. I had picked up a couple items to purchase. At the checkout I decided I really didn’t need these items. My friend jokingly called me poor.

Emotions instantly came to the surface. I realized that deep-down I still felt poor even though financially I wasn’t poor any longer. I had no idea these feelings were still inside of me. I was happy she made that joke because it revealed some of my shame. You may not have a friend reveal this for you, so take the time to analyze yourself. Figure out what is lying just below the surface of your conscious mind. It’s only when you discover what is holding you back that you can release it and move forward.

Instead of practicing avoidance or ignorance, face it head-on. Whatever you are pushing down, let it come to the surface and face it. You will never move ahead if you don’t. You will feel stuck like you do right now until you acknowledge it.

Feeling stuck in your circumstances, your environment, or your progress is a horrible feeling. I know because I’ve been there. I’ve felt stuck in my past.

These feelings will not go away on their own. You’ve got be courageous and face whatever you are avoiding. Recognize your feelings. Acknowledge why you feel this way.

When I was spending like crazy, I was in denial. I wasn’t aware of how big my debt pile had become. Instead of wanting to know, it seemed easier to live in the dark. I had tricked myself into believing everything was fine. I thought, eventually, I’ll get a promotion and out earn my growing debt. I wasn’t taking it seriously. I was just burying my concerns. This attitude of ignorance and avoidance wasn’t allowing me to progress. I was stuck.

After a few years of this, I slowly got more serious about my desire to get out of debt. I started seeing hope. When you’re in a hole so big it doesn’t look like there is any way out, it’s difficult to believe that escaping is possible. Instead of trying to find hope, we immediately brush off the idea.

However, when you see a tiny ray of hope, that small amount of light might be all you need to get started.

No matter how much debt you’ve accumulated, it’s time to start believing you can do anything you set your mind to. Faith that you can do it as well as openness to new beliefs opens doors for you.

Decide ignorance and avoidance isn’t your path.

We are More Than Our Money

Every Aspect of Our Lives is Connected

FACE YOUR FEARS

mindset BLOG POSTS: HOW TO WIN WITH YOUR MONEY

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